Not even an hour after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered convicted rapist Bill Cosby to be released from prison, his TV wife and friend Phylicia Rashad is today (June 30) being ripped to shreds by Twitter users for defending him. 

Rashad, who starred as Mrs Clair Huxtable in the popular Cosby Show, claimed in a tweet that the scales of justice were “finally” tipped towards her disgraced co-star.

“FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” she tweeted, with an image of Cosby. 

Thinking that turning off the replies would stop the nearly instantaneous tidal wave of backlash, thousands of Twitter users instead went to quote Rashad’s tweet—unleashing a verbal assault not seen since Donald Trump.

In the roughly 40 minutes since the tweet went up, Rashad has amassed over 12,000 quote tweets. 

Several immediately took issue with the tone of the 73-year-old’s tweet, especially in her new role as Dean of Howard University’s reestablished College of Fine Arts. 

“Phylicia’s response here is not surprising but it is disappointing, given her role as an academic dean charged with the welfare of her students, some of whom will be survivors,” a woman said.

Others were more scathing towards the dubbed ‘Mother of the Black Community’, who was seemingly celebrating a man who admitted in the past to drugging and raping women—now walking free on a technicality. 

“His incriminating testimony in civil cases was used against him in subsequent criminal cases. Apparently this was not allowed by an agreement with the DA. He still openly testified to what he did. There’s nothing to celebrate here,” another man tweeted.

More reactions

Bill Cosby is currently the number one trending Twitter topic in the United States, as news broke that he had served more than two years of a potential three- to 10-year sentence, following his 2018 conviction.

According to Variety, Rashad, an actress on American television series This Is Us, has been repeatedly vocal in her support for her embattled friend. 

“In the past, Rashad has supported Cosby, despite the numerous allegations from dozens of women who accused the comedian of drugging and raping them for years. Rashad has gotten heat in the past for speaking about the legacy of The Cosby Show, rather than focusing on the women,” the report stated.

Already, hundreds are calling on Rashad to be fired from Howard University.

• See related article: Court overturns Bill Cosby sexual assault conviction, orders release